Chapter Text
15th august 2017
• terje and anita •
Even is looking around the reception venue trying to find anyone at all that he knows, Isak had only gone to the bathroom for five minutes so he doesn’t know how he’s meant to last the whole night. He could have sworn Jonas was meant to be coming to the reception.
He couldn’t help but notice how cold the venue was. The walls were a blue-grey colour, the tables were covered in heather grey cloth - the only flowers they had chosen were white - the colour scheme reminded him of hospital waiting rooms.
The wedding wasn’t too awkward. Isak stood for most of the ceremony, but Even got to sit at the front for when Isak had to sit down again. They’d arrived quite early but nobody had noticed them being here together until about an hour ago. That’s when they’d learned that nobody here knew Terje had a gay son. They knew Isak was the ‘poor kid from the last marriage’ but didn’t know anything about him - it seemed to Even that Terje didn’t talk about Isak much. Luckily, he’d distracted Isak enough that he hadn’t noticed the dirty looks and snide smiles they kept receiving from his dad’s guests.
By the time Isak made it back from the toilets, more and more people were filling the hall and taking seats. He felt Isak before he saw him, he stood behind Even’s chair, his arms snaking around Even’s shoulders and wrapping across his chest, “Hi, did you miss me?” Isak teases.
“Course,” Even smiles.
“I wanna go home.”
“Think you’ll need to last at least an hour, being the best man and all.”
Isak shakes his head, “You don’t get it. Dad just told me that you can’t sit at that stupid table with me.”
Even paused, not knowing how to navigate this, he’d made it his mission for Isak to feel okay on today of all days, “The head table, you mean? Are they not letting the maid of honour have her husband, either?”
“Yep. Dad said it was married plus-ones only at the head table, so I don’t see why I have to be on there at all. I’m not making a speech, I don’t get why I have to sit there. I wish we never came.”
“Baby,” Even spins around to face Isak, “I’ll be right here, you can look at me the whole time. You don’t need to sit there until all the speeches start anyway, and at the end of the speeches, you can come sit with me.”
Isak frowns, “You don’t know anyone here, though. I barely do!”
“It’s fine. We’ll stay a couple of hours and then say we need to get back, okay? It’ll be okay. You’ll be sat over there for an hour, tops. There’s no sit down meal, you just need to be over there until the speeches are done,” Even persuades.
“Fine.”
.
The speeches are agonisingly long. Terje’s brother did a speech instead of Isak - originally, it was supposed to be Isak’s grandad, but he ended up not being able to come. It’s very thrown together and about nothing in particular, but that doesn’t stop it being fifteen minutes long. Terje’s speech lasts ten minutes, where he just says a thank you to everyone for coming (to Even, it seems strange not to direct your wedding speech to your new wife, but that’s not his business - side note: you also could direct something to your son, maybe?) Maybe Even’s biased. They had the maid of honour and the father of the bride also make speeches - both of which are extremely long and not sappy. Just as cold as the grey walls and grey tables, the grey floor and the grey grey grey everything.
Luckily, Even manages to drag Isak to the dance floor for one song before they go. It’s a dumb song from probably 1953 but he makes the most of it - the only time Isak’s ever danced with him was in their living room with music playing from Spotify, with just their fridge’s light casting over them. Even really prefers those dances, yet he still holds Isak close to try and make him forget this whole day.
“Isak!” Terje calls over to him, so Isak lifts his head from Even’s chest just as the song ends.
Even sighs internally, hoping that he wouldn’t keep them too long. They’d last two hours, that must be enough for the day.
“I just wanted to say thank you for today.”
“Oh,” Isak says, “It’s alright, it was a great day.”
Terjei chuckles, “I know it wasn't your first choice. And I’m sorry Even couldn’t sit with us.”
Isak shrugs him off, not knowing how to answer that without some form of argument.
“How’s your mama doing?”
Terje had stopped contact with Marianne after getting engaged. After she became stable, they just went in separate directions, which was probably lucky for Isak - he much preferred family time now that his dad wasn’t involved.
Isak nods, “Really good. We went over at the weekend, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, yeah, we did,” Even agrees, “We made some dinner together. She’s actually joining my mums’ and us on Friday.”
Terjei pricks his head up, “Oh,” he comments, “That’s nice. I didn’t know you were all connected yet. I didn’t realise you’d gotten to that point yet.”
“We live together, Papa. It’s at that level.”
“Yes, yes, of course. I just thought you and Mama weren’t completely- I mean, I thought it might cause stress...”
Even rubs Isak’s back to try and stop him from yelling, “Mama and me are great. Besides, she loves Even’s parents, there's no stress.”
Terjei looks surprised, and Isak clears his throat as Even says, “We actually should be going now - my mum’s been locked out so…” he trails off.
“Oh, okay, no problem. Thank you both for coming, so much, it means the world to Anita and I,” he hugs Isak, and Even doesn’t miss the way his boyfriend flinches, “We should meet up soon for a coffee, maybe, Isak?”
Isak nods as he lifts his hand in a small wave as he walks with Even out the venue, thankful for his boyfriend's arm around his waist..
.
When they got back to the apartment, it was dark. Even had driven them to the wedding that morning - it was only a half an hour drive and he knew he wouldn’t be drinking so it was the easiest option to just borrow his mum’s car.
It had become a habit of Isak’s when he was exhausted to lay on the floor as soon as he walks through the door. It didn’t happen too often - it was typically when he had been somewhere with Even and it was mentally draining or even when they were both drunk. And every single time Isak was forced to wear a suit.
That’s how they found themselves laying on the floor, both in their suits, and both mentally exhausted from the glares of Terje’s wedding guests.
“Do you think we’ll get married?” Even asks.
Isak scoffs, “You thought we were going to be married before we were even properly together and now you ask me if we’ll end up married?”
“Shut up, you.”
“I think we will,” Isak whispers into the dimmed light coming in from the window.
Even turns his head to face his boyfriend from the floor, “Can you promise me something?”
Isak murmurs.
“Promise me you won’t propose.”
A moment passes, and Isak’s interpreting the words in a million different ways.
“I really want to propose to you. Promise me?” Even interjects.
“I promise,” Isak swears, holding his pinky out to him.
Even smiles, taking the pinky in his own, and he presses a kiss to them, “I want to make it perfect for you. Plan it all out, you know?”
Isak is silent, knowing it’s a time when Even wants to voice his thoughts.
“I know I can’t plan much because of how impulsive I am and it can trigger me, but proposing to you. I need to do that. You’re always looking after me-”
“Hey, we look after each other,” Isak interrupts.
“Yeah, we do, but you asked me to move in, you plan everything for us. Like the Morocco trip, and the cabin weekends are always you planning them, or the boys. And Eva that time we went on that big cabin trip.”
Isak shuffles over to Even, and lays against his boyfriend’s arm until he’ll wrap it around him.
“Plus, I’ll have to force myself to do it when I’m properly able to, you know? Not like when I was manic in the hotel. I need it to be perfect for you, and that means doing it when I know I'm at my best.”
“I know that,” Isak says, “Don’t stress about it, though. You could ask me by writing it on a napkin and I’d still say yes.”
20th april 2019
• julie and simen •
“Do we really have to go?” Isak whines from the bed. Even was already up, and his suit was hooked over the door ready for him to put on, while Isak laid in the bed, wriggling in the sheets and groaning whenever he couldn’t see Even anymore.
Even chuckles, “It’s only the ceremony we have to go to. I made an excuse to get out the reception.”
“But I hate church.”
He sits on the edge of the bed, combing through Isak’s hair with his fingers, “I know you do, baby. It’s just an hour, okay? He’s my cousin, I can’t get out of it. You don’t have to come, if you really don’t want - I can just say you’re sick.
“No, if you go, I go.”
Even places a kiss on Isak’s nose, “Okay, we'll go for the ceremony and then we’ll come home and I’ll take you out. How’s that sound?”
“Out where?”
“Wherever you want, you can choose,” Even offered.
“On a date?”
He smirks, “A date it is.”
“Okay, deal.”
.
It was a typical church wedding. Until-death-do-us-part vows, a bishop marrying the happy straight couple, with no character into who they were as a couple. A generic wedding both Isak and Even knew from childhood. Even down the the white and pink roses decorating the church, and the hymn that was sung as the paperwork was signed.
It only lasted an hour, though, so they were home again by 1pm.
They walked home hand in hand - it was only ten minutes from their apartment.
“I don’t want to marry you in a church,” Even tells him.
“Good.”
“I’m glad weddings aren’t all about religion anymore,” Even begins, “I know they’re rooted in religion but it means something different than God now.”
“I’ve never been to a gay wedding, what would that even look like?”
Even swung their hands as they walked, “I was thirteen when my mums got married. I remember them telling me it was fun to plan because they just did everything themselves, they didn’t have to follow any of the traditions because it was between two girls so tradition was already out the window.”
Isak laughed, “Do they still have their photos?”
“Course. I’ll get them to show you when we go over tomorrow.”
“Do you think my mum would be upset if I didn’t want a whole religious thing?”
“I don’t think so. She loves you more than anything, babe. You should remember that more,” Even explains, “We could show her the photos of my mum’s wedding once we’re engaged and then we can tell her how it’ll all work. Chances are she’s like you and has no clue how a gay wedding would look.”
“I really hate the term gay wedding.”
“I hate a lot of things.”
16th june 2020
• beth and lillian •
Looking around the venue for this wedding is something that fills Isak with a feeling he hadn’t felt before. It was strange. He’d been to a few weddings before, but he always felt out of place, whether he was close to the couple or not. He knew both Beth and Lillian well. Back when he and Even lived in Trondheim, Lillian worked with him on his shifts at the cafe, and both couples used to go on double dates when they still lived there.
They were only a couple of years older than Even. Maybe Isak felt like this because was because this was the youngest couple he knew getting married.
They were having a summer wedding in a hotel - the place was filled to the brim with every colour flower they could possibly find. They’d mentioned to Even months ago that they’d asked the florists for the decorative flowers in the hotel to resemble the rainbow as much as possible, and their bouquets for the aisle was themed around a light pink rose. He didn’t know all the types of flowers in the hotel but it was bright and delicate.
He and Even had already sat down, they both were quite excited to see this wedding, which was a first for them since they got together at least.
“You okay? You seem quiet,” Even comments.
Isak nods, still looking around, “I’m good, it’s just really nice here.”
“You like it?”
Isak stays silent, not knowing what to say.
“Weddings can be nice, hm?”
“This one seems different to the others I’ve been to.”
Even holds Isak’s hand, “You’ve never been to a queer wedding before, though. Maybe this is just how weddings feel when you can see yourself in what’s happening.”
“Maybe.”